The Kansas Department of Transportation (KDOT) expects to begin mill and overlay projects on K-39 and U.S. 59 in Neosho County the week of June 26.
The adjoining projects start on K-39 east of Chanute and continue east and north for 15 miles, ending at the Neosho-Allen county line. The contractor plans to begin at the county line and work westward.
Flaggers and a pilot car operation will guide one-lane traffic through the work zone during daylight hours. Expect delays of 15 minutes or less. The road work should be finished by August, weather permitting.
KDOT awarded the construction contract of $4.6 million to Bettis Asphalt & Construction Inc., Topeka. Check KDOT’s traveler information website, www.Kandrive.org, for more highway condition and construction details. Persons with questions may contact Doug Pulliam at KDOT-Pittsburg, (620) 235-9523, or Public Affairs Manager Priscilla Petersen at (620) 902-6433.
Lisa Jo Larkin, age 56, resident of Las Vegas, NV, died Monday, June 19, 2023, at the Nathan Adelson Hospice following a lengthy illness. A Celebration of Life will be held at 1:30 PM Friday, July 14th, at the Cheney Witt Chapel in Fort Scott, KS. Words of remembrance may be submitted to the online guestbook at cheneywitt.com.
Patricia A. Bolton, 83, former resident of Fort Scott, Kansas, passed away Tuesday morning, June 20, 2023, in Kansas City, Missouri. She was born March 18, 1940, in Muscotah, Kansas, the daughter of Floyd Harold Tipling and Anna Belle (Woodward) Tipling. She married William Gary “Bill” Bolton on August 23, 1959, in Muscotah, Kansas, and he preceded her in death on September 8, 2007.
Pat received her BA in Biology and Home Economics from Emporia State University. She was a homemaker and part-time college professor.
Survivors include her daughters, Kathryn Renee Bradford and husband Merl, of Minden, Nebraska, and Constance Zoe Townzen and husband Darren, of Rogers, Arkansas; a brother, Paul A. Tipling and wife Dixie, of Salina, Kansas; four grandchildren, Andrew Bradford, Emily Kennedy and husband Kyle, Daniel Townzen, and Laura Stephens and husband Sam; three great-grandchildren, Leif, Anders, and Finn.
In addition to her husband, Bill, she was also preceded in death by her parents.
Rev. Chuck Russell will conduct funeral services at 10:00 a.m. Monday, June 26, 2023, at the First Presbyterian Church under the direction of the Konantz-Cheney Funeral Home.
Burial will follow at the Evergreen Cemetery.
Memorial donations may be made to the Alzheimer’s Association and may be left in the care of the Konantz-Cheney Funeral Home, 15 W. Wall Street, P.O. Box 309, Fort Scott, Kansas, 66701. Condolences may be submitted to the online guestbook at konantz-cheney.com.
The month of June has been a blur as we have been hosting youth cooking classes throughout the Southwind Extension District (which covers Allen, Bourbon, Neosho, and Woodson Counties). These classes provide an excellent hands-on opportunity for youth to build their confidence in the kitchen. The summer is a great time for you to invite kids into the kitchen to cook healthy meals together at home!
The benefits of cooking together include building children’s self-esteem, helping them develop small muscle skills as they complete kitchen tasks, and creating time for bonding with your children. Cooking together also helps children practice math and reading skills as they read and interpret recipes, work with fractions, and measure ingredients. Research also suggests that youth who cook have healthier dietary habits.
So, how can you get your kids in the kitchen this summer to experience some of these same benefits? Keep these tips in mind:
Remember that meals will likely take longer to prepare. Do not try to cook together when you are in a hurry.
Teach children about handwashing. Before cooking, you should always wash your hands with clean water and soap for at least 20 seconds. This is roughly the same amount of time it takes to sing the “Happy Birthday” song twice.
Have children complete age-appropriate tasks. For example, tasks for 2-4 year old children could include using measuring spoons or pouring liquids, while tasks for 8-11 year old children could include using a vegetable peeler or whisking. To find a more complete list of age-appropriate tasks from Illinois Extension, visit bit.ly/Cooking-With-Children.
For more information, please contact me at [email protected] or 620-365-2242.
Kansas State University Agricultural Experiment Station and Cooperative Extension Service
K-State Research and Extension is an equal opportunity provider and employer.
Fireworks from the Independence Day Celebration in Uniontown 2022. Submitted by Amy Holt.
The Independence Day Bash will be held on Monday, July 3rd in the Uniontown City Park.
“We love celebrating our nation’s independence with our friends and neighbors and hope to see YOU there,” according to Amy Holt, Vice President – Loan Administration at Union State Bank.
The bank has funded the annual event for 18 years.
Events start at 6:30 p.m. with a free hot dog and chips meal, that the bank provides.
Uniontown’s Baptist Church will be selling soft drinks for a camp fundraiser, the Uniontown High School Cheerleaders will have a bake sale and sell glow sticks, and the Old Settlers Day Committee will have a bake sale to raise funds for the annual event in Uniontown on Labor Day.
There will also be inflatables (bounce houses, etc. )for the kids and kids at heart, she said.
There will be live entertainment by Trevor Holman and the Haymakers.
This band is a Red Dirt and Classic Country Band from Southeast Kansas, according to its Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/HAYMKRZ/
The fireworks begin at dusk, this time of year around 9:30 or 10 p.m.
Scripture instructs us to pray. Loved ones ask for it, depend on it, and trust we will follow through when we promise to intercede for those who are hurting. Oh, we try (don’t we?), but there’s this haunting, little inadequacy thing. The words are fleeting. Our mind wanders. We don’t begin to understand to Whom it is we are talking.
In A Morbid Taste for Bones, Ellis Peters gives a sweet description of someone she watched who was deep in prayer: “He prayed as he breathed, forming no words and making no specific requests, only holding in his heart, like broken birds in cupped hands, all those people who were in stress or grief.”
Do you picture that as I do, with a sense of awe, and know that this is the type of intercessor you want in your corner? Or the kind of prayer warrior you want to be but perhaps are not delivering? You question the usefulness of your petitions. “What’s the point? The last sick people for whom I prayed have not improved, even though I visualized the miracle.” “The marriage for which I prayed ended in a split, in spite of how I was praying in God’s will—He who disdains divorce.” “The drug-addicted son for whom I grieved ended up in the penitentiary.” Have you been there?
So, why are my prayers ineffective?
We forget that bad things happen to good people, our prayers are not a magic bullet, and to God, our spiritual growth is more important than our physical desires being met. Just as a sailor does not learn to master the sea during calm waters, so is our faith tested during the difficult times. More importantly, we simply can’t see God’s purposes.
Someone once wrote that God offers three answers to prayer: (1) Yes, (2) No, and (3) I have something better for you.
As it turns out, I personally have some ownership in the battle of prayer.
(1). There has to be a relationship between God and me. He is not interested in being my bottled genie when the only time I talk to Him is when I want something. Think of your children. If they have no regard for you except when they want you to meet their demands, you would feel used, not respected or loved. So it is with God.
(2). Sin interferes with our relationship. Psalm 66:18 makes that clear. “If I regard sin in my heart, the Lord will not hear me.” Sin seeks to control us, and yes, we all are sinners, but if we make no attempt to stop sinning and cling to it like shrink-wrap on a jar (or like my waist when I was younger and tried to lose weight), we will not be seeking God with our whole heart.
(3). Selfish motives can kill a prayer. I can ask God all day long to make me a better witness for Jesus, but if my hidden intent is to get notoriety or praise for doing so, God isn’t interested.
4). Unforgiveness is not the way to get God into our court. Mark 11:25 tells us that God will not forgive me unless I forgive someone who has offended me.
James 5:16 is a powerful verse: “The effective prayer of a righteous person has great power.” You want power in your prayers? I do. Then our petitions need to be “effective,” meaning God will hear—and act on—those prayers. A few verses previous, James asked if anyone was suffering. “Let him pray.” That was the same answer given to anyone uncheerful or sick or sinning. They all were to pray. Why? Because prayer works. And it works not because of us…but because of God Almighty.
Martin Luther said it well: “To be a Christian without praying is no more possible than to be alive without breathing. I think that’s the kind of prayer Ellis Peters was talking about.
to inform those interested in a 1/1/24 start date!
Blue Cross Blue Shield of KS
Insurance Program
Two info. sessions will be held Wednesday, June 28th
9-10am and 12-1pm
at the Chamber office
231 E. Wall St.
Current Chamber members and any prospective members are welcome to attend!
See link below to RSVP.
The Fort Scott Area Chamber of Commerce is starting to get information out on the Chamber Blue Health Insurance program through Blue Cross Blue Shield of Kansas for 2024 coverage for local businesses and their employees.
The Chamber is offering two informational sessions about the program on Wednesday, June 28th at the Chamber office, 231 E. Wall St. The sessions will be held from 9 to 10 a.m. and 12 to 1 p.m. Those planning to attend are asked to RSVP through the events tab of fortscott.com so seating and materials can be planned.
Businesses currently enrolled in the program are welcome to attend one of these sessions, but do not need to do anything as they will be contacted by BCBS with renewal info.
The timeline for coverage for 2024 is as follows:
Interest Surveys will need to be completed between July 1 and August 18
Liberty Worth is an artist, poet, teacher and traveler. Gathering inspiration from the natural world and stories of healing, she uses life and memories to guide her artmaking and writing. An avid journal keeper and sketchbook filler, Liberty lives in Los Angeles, CA where she practices as a commissioned visual artist, public speaker and part time high school art teacher.
Gentry Warren is an acrylic and mixed media artist, storyteller, and poet currently living in Pittsburg, KS. His work is full of color, emotion, and most importantly, pieces of himself and his lived experiences. As someone who has always felt the peaks and valleys of life deeply, finding a way to create from those feelings has been and continues to be transformational for him. As with life, his process and style are ever changing. His work is full of stories and depictions of interactions and observations from every corner of the country. He deeply enjoys combining his paintings with stories for the viewer to enjoy in tandem. Through his words and work, Gentry hopes to evoke understanding and compassion, while offering new perspective and vantage points.
Master Artist Class
Work with textile artist Liberty Worth to give new life and artistic outcomes to old fabric scraps. We will be “painting” (no paint involved) with fabric to create new objects d’art.
The former site of the church at Third and Lowman Street, the Learning Tree Sign is seen in center, left.
Fort Scottian Josh Jones purchased the property at 301 Lowman for a philanthropic purpose.
“I purchased it from the owner with the intent to transfer it to the Gordon Parks Museum,” Jones said. “I knew of the historic meaning of the property and wanted to get it to them.”
Left to right): Josh Jones, along with Kirk Sharp, Gordon Parks Museum Director and Sarah Smith, member of the Fort Scott Community College Foundation. Submitted photo.
On the property once stood the historic African-American Methodist Episcopal Church.
Now it’s the property of the Gordon Parks Museum, thanks to Jones and the Fort Scott Community College Foundation, according to a press release from the museum director, Kirk Sharp.
“The FSCC Foundation Department helped with getting it deeded into their name, the museum is under its umbrella,” Sharp said.
“Jones donated the site on the southeast corner of Third and Lowman streets where the church, attended regularly by Gordon Parks and his family, was located,” according to the press release. “The church was also used in a scene from Parks’ acclaimed film, The Learning Tree.”
AME Church Gordon Parks, 1950. Photo Courtesy of and Copyright by The Gordon Parks Foundation
“We are very excited about this donation and can’t thank Josh and the Foundation enough,” said Sharp. “This donation creates this wonderful opportunity to keep this incredible history alive in Fort Scott. This is also the same location that is located on our Learning Tree Film Sign Trail.”
The sign that explains this site is part of the Gordon Parks Sign Trail.
The tentative plans, Sharp said, are to develop the property as a commemorative, low-maintenance park neighborhood-type park with signs, photos, benches and short walls with a history of the church as a tribute.
“The museum will look for possible grants and donations to help fund this project,” he said. “There is currently no timeline as of now for the completion of the tribute project.”
In its heyday, the church, established in 1866, was the hub of Fort Scott’s black community, according to the press release. The church moved from its original location in 1885, occupying a new brick building on the corner of Third and Lowman, where it stood at 301 S. Lowman with a viable congregation for more than 115 years.
A reduction in members and unsafe conditions eventually led to its condemnation and razing in the early 2000s, Sharp said. One of the stained-glass windows and two of the pews are on exhibit at the Gordon Parks Museum.
“The largest congregation was believed to have been in 1888,” he said. “The city directory for that year indicates the membership was 260 and the Sunday school membership was 100.”
The AME church was Fort Scott’s first and oldest black church with Shiloh Baptist being the second.
